Review: Feline Protector (City Shifter Mysteries Book 1) by Sapphire Wolf
Cougar shifter, Detective Kat Kale solves homicides in a city at the mercy of the delicate balance between natural enemies, humans and shifters. However, her life takes a drastic turn when her human arch-nemesis, thanks to a spilled cup of chai latte, Detective Rafe Anhelm, is arrested for the murder of the powerful wolf alpha, Joel Hardcastle.
With her instincts telling her Anhelm is being framed, Kat sets out to clear his name and find the true culprit behind the vicious crime. As the investigation deepens, Kat delves into a complex web of betrayal and revenge in the most powerful pack in the city. Time is running out for the city as the delicate peace between species teeters on the edge of chaos.
Kat doesn’t believe Anhelm killed the alpha, but the evidence keeps pointing back to him and she’s under pressure to wrap up the case. Anhelm’s life is on the line as the powerful shifters in the city demand justice for their fallen alpha. Will Kat succeed in unraveling the intricate case in time to save Anhelm or will he be thrown to the wolves?
Review:
Dear Sapphire Wolf,
I have not had a pleasure of reading several books in a row that I liked a lot in quite some time. This book was once again a very good reading experience for me. A friend who recommended this series to me mentioned that she saw some undertones of the “Infected” series by Andrea Speed and I actually agree. It does not have any major similarities or anything like that, but some feelings that I have had reminded me of those books and no, I cannot tell you why I had those feelings, because those would be spoilerish.
We have alternative New York here, shifters and humans uneasily coexisting together with a whole lot of prejudices towards each other on both sides and some people (and I include shifters in the word people here, too) actively acting on those prejudices, unfortunately.
Human and shifter cops also work side by side and even though many of them manage to work well with each other, of course some have those prejudices too.
The blurb describes the set up very well. Kat Kale, the cougar shifter detective has to figure out who really killed the alpha of the most powerful pack in the city, because her “arch nemesis” human detective Rafe Anhelm is being a prime suspect for that murder and he specifically asked Kat to help him.
I wanted to say that the blurb exaggerated their dislike of each other, but then I have reread the “arch nemesis due to a spilled cup of chai latte” and realized that nope, the blurb was done very well. They basically bickered and did some petty stuff to each other and Rafe called her an asshole, but they respect each other very much and Kat comes through for him and risks a lot and helps him when shit hit the fan.
By the way, why do other people called her an asshole throughout the story? Because she is stubborn and never gives up and fights for what she sees as a right thing to do without conforming to many niceties? I loved her character a lot, I loved Rafe too. He is in the situation he is not used to being in throughout the whole book, basically not being in control and even though I have never “met” him before, I had no trouble believing his actions, even if some of those actions may felt a little idiotic when we learn about them for the first time.
Now I am not revealing any spoilers when I say that Rafe did not commit this murder. I thought the reveal of the real murderer was well done though – basically at some point we realize that the pool of the real suspects becomes quite limited and the main character begins to realize and suspect who the murderer is but still kind of fighting her own instincts till a certain point. Or so I interpreted it anyway.
It was a dynamic book with a very memorable characters for me. Not the first shifters police procedural I have read but one of the better ones and I can’t wait to start reading the next book which I hope won’t disappoint me.
B+
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This sounds appealing, Sirius, so thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m off to get a sample.
I might try this one although the cover is a bit of a turnoff in looking so photoshopped.
@Janine: I do not really pay much attention to the cover ( obviously there were some covers in my reading experiences that I liked, but I never buy based on the cover alone – it is usually a blurb if I am looking for a book or a recommendation), and in this case where the book was recommended by a friend whose tastes are almost identical to mine. If you decide to try let me know if it worked for you. @Kareni: Hope it worked.